1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to baby nursing or feeding bottles and, more particularly, is concerned with a baby bottle extension assembly having a storage chamber and release mechanism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Bottle fed babies are typically fed a milk-like mixture of water and a liquid baby food material generally referred to as "baby formula" which can be purchased in any grocery store or supermarket. For various reasons, one of which is food freshness and nutritional wholesomeness, it is desirable to be able to mix the baby formula with the required quantity of water just before feeding the mixture to the baby.
Thus, when a baby is taken on a trip away from home, an adult caring for the baby must transport one or more bottles filled with water and also transport one or more containers of baby formula separately therefrom for mixing therewith when it is time to feed the baby. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a device having a design which facilitate the process of preparing, transporting and utilizing baby bottles at all times of the day and night and in all places. Such design would allow for the water and baby formula to remain separate within the bottle, until the moment that they need to be mixed to feed to the baby, and would employ currently used standard baby bottle constructions.
Designs have been proposed in the prior patent art to provide baby bottles with separate compartments for containing food ingredients to be mixed and fed together or even to be fed separately from the bottle. Representative examples of such designs are the ones discloses in Swiss patent to Fluck (679,145) and in U.S. patents to Greenspan (U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,786,769; 2,885,104), Lipari (U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,793,776; 2,807,384; 2,813,647), Gallois (U.S. Pat. No. 2,843,281), Pohjola (U.S. Pat. No. 2,931,731), Wagner (U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,995), Askerneese (U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,629) and Fox (U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,811).
The above-cited U.S. patents to Lipari disclose various embodiments of a compartmental nursing bottle. U.S. Pat. No. 2,793,776 discloses a nursing bottle having an outer container filled with water and an inner tubular body filled with a formula being supported within the outer container and having a plunger slidable therein for opening communication between the inner tubular body and the interior chamber of the outer container. U.S. Pat. No. 2,807,384 discloses a nursing bottle having upper and lower compartments filled with formula and water respectively and separated by a rupturable diaphragm disposed across a restricted passage connecting the compartments. A valve and stopper assembly is provided in the upper compartment and operable for effecting rupture of the diaphragm. U.S. Pat. No. 2,813,649 discloses a nursing bottle similar to that of the previous patent, except that the latter uses a movable stopper to close and open the restricted passage.
The Lipari compartmental nursing bottle designs appear to be overly complicated and furthermore are not adapted for use with the generally accepted standard baby bottle constructions. As a result, the Lipari designs do not appear to be a satisfactory approach to the objective of providing a baby bottle design having features which would faciliate the separate storage of water and baby formula and then the easy mixing thereof at the moment that they need to be mixed in order to feed the baby, which design utilizes to the extent feasible currently accepted baby bottle constructions.
Consequently, a need still exists for a design which meets the desired performance objectives and is compatiable with current baby bottle constructions.